Currently there are an estimated nearly 9,000 reptiles in the world, while the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List has assessed all of the world’s described mammals, birds, and amphibians, reptiles have yet to be fully assessed, leaving herpetologists with an unclear picture of how reptiles are faring in the world.
As of this year 1,677 reptiles have been assessed (less than 20 percent of the total number of reptile species known) with 293 added this year. Of those assessed, 28 percent of reptiles are considered threatened with extinction. The percentage is close to that of amphibians, which is 30 percent, who are considered to be undergoing an extinction crisis. Some researchers fear that reptiles are undergoing a similar, but less publicized, crisis.
“The world’s reptiles are undoubtedly suffering, but the picture may be much worse than it currently looks,” says Simon Stuart, Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission. “We need an assessment of all reptiles to understand the severity of the situation but we don’t have the $2-3 million to carry it out.
As underrepresented as the reptiles are, many other groups—such as invertebrates, freshwater species, marine species, and plants—are less represented. Currently the IUCN has evaluated 2.7 percent of the world’s 1.8 million described species.
Scientists do not know how many species there are in the world: estimates range from a few million to upwards of 20 million.
The reptiles are a taxonomic class that includes lizards, snakes, turtles, and crocodilians.
August 27, 2024 update: This piece originally featured an image of the La Palma giant lizard, a Critically Endangered species rediscovered in 2008 on the Canary Island of La Palma. The photo was taken by Tim Laman, a well-known wildlife photographer. Permission to use the image was granted at the time of publication in 2009 in the associated press release from IUCN, however in August 2024, we received a note from Cotman IP Law Group, APLC notifying us of “Cotman IP Law Group, APLC”. The letter states that “This work is registered with the Registrar of Copyrights on June 07, 2022 and assigned registration number VA-2-302-972”. To address the matter, we have removed the image and are currently evaluating whether to remove from Mongabay all of Laman’s images previously granted to us.
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